Stella McCartney presented her Autumn 2016 collection [1] in LA just last week, and if we had to sum up the vibe of the night in one word, it would be youthful. Before the stars — Gwyneth! Johnny! Mary J! [2] — arrived at Hollywood's historic Amoeba Music record store, we went backstage with skin care brand Sunday Riley to see how they achieved the models' effervescent, megabright skin.
Considering that many of us have spent the last few months hibernating in the dry, artificial heat of our homes and offices, all while indulging in a holiday diet that consists primarily of booze and sugar cookies, "fresh" and "plump" might not be the first words that come to mind when we see our faces in the mirror. But, it turns out, the glowing visages we saw at Stella are within reach. They weren't the work of a crazy arsenal of products or hours spent at the sink. Instead, the dewy, healthy faces were achieved with five products over the course of about 10 minutes.
"It's all about that really natural, glowing, refreshed skin," Sunday Riley Account Executive Ryan Nelson told us. "When you're cleansed, hydrated, and exfoliated properly, your foundation is just going to glide on so much easier, and when it doesn't have anything blocking it from your skin, it won't fall off as easily." The secret weapon backstage was Sunday Riley's yet-to-be-released Tidal moisturizer, a blue, faintly herbal-smelling cream that goes on rich but disappears just as quickly as 2015 did. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait to stock our medicine cabinet with our own jar until March 4, when it hits shelves.
In the meantime, though, Nelson gave us a four-step regimen that basically works like CPR on skin that's flatlined after a tough Winter. While we can't promise that a modeling agency will sign you after following it, you'll at least look and feel revived.